western australia

german backpacker

German backpacker found in the outback

@JudyEv (362375)

Rockingham, Australia

July 12, 2025 8:05pm CST

The big news in Western Australia over the last week has been the search for a German backpacker, Carolina Wilga. The 26-year-old was missing for ten days in rough country east of Beacon but was found Friday afternoon and is now recovering in hospital suffering from exposure and minor injuries. The nights are very cold there. She is one very lucky lady as there is no phone reception in that area. We were in the Beacon area just twelve months ago and were fascinated by the rock formations in the area. I don’t have a photo of the thick bush that Carolina got lost in, but this shows a rock wall put in during the Great Depression to channel water off the rock into a tank. Interestingly, Carolina’s surname, Wilga, is also the name of one of the our small towns.

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18 responses

@Ineeddentures (13313)

•

13 Jul

This made the news here Judy Saw some glamorous pictures of Carolina She did well surviving for that length of time

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

They did have some nice photos of her. She did really well. It wouldn't have been fun in that country. Almost all the vegetation is prickly. It would be hard going.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

@Ineeddentures She had minimal supplies but drank from puddles. They said she was thin when they found her.

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@Ineeddentures (13313)

•

13 Jul

@JudyEv Wonder what she ate? Or had to drink

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@Fishmomma (11593)

• United States

13 Jul

I am glad she was found alive and not badly hurt.

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@Fishmomma (11593)

• United States

14 Jul

@JudyEv I am glad people care and were willing to search a lot of days.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

It was a long time to be lost and alone.

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@Treborika (18069)

• Mombasa, Kenya

13 Jul

Same to me here

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@snowy22315 (195558)

• United States

13 Jul

Glad she was found. So when was the Great Depression in Australia?

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@snowy22315 (195558)

• United States

13 Jul

@JudyEv It must have been a worldwide thing. I know the German depression was a catalyst for WWII.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

It was through the 1930s, I think the same time as in the US.

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@Treborika (18069)

• Mombasa, Kenya

13 Jul

@snowy22315 What a hilarious experience!

@ptrikha_2 (48338)

• India

13 Jul

I think backpackers should be in a group. Or solo travelers should be in touch with either some local or may be have some sort of Police registration in different areas. Thankfully, she survived but who knows what can happen in the wild ! We have such rocky terrains around Deccan Plateau in the Southern part of India. Some areas have been used as film shooting places.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

Luckily they had CCTV footaage of her at a nearby town, then they found her abandoned car so they knew the area to search.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

@Treborika It would be difficult. You can't really stop people driving where they want to.

@Treborika (18069)

• Mombasa, Kenya

13 Jul

Something has to be done to prevent the occurrence for that incident in future

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@allknowing (152986)

• India

13 Jul

I have noticed some youngsters like to do it alone and then get lost

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

All part of growing up I guess.

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@DaddyEvil (158779)

• United States

13 Jul

I'm glad they found her! Being lost out there can't have been fun!

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@DaddyEvil (158779)

• United States

13 Jul

@JudyEv Yes, it is... I had a similar experience when I was in my twenties... I drove from my home in the center of the US out to the West Coast. On the way home, I overheated and got confused and then lost in Arizona. I was lost from Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon when the state police found me. I was admitted to the hospital with sunstroke, heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I was in the hospital for a week before my boss from Missouri drove out to bring me home again. I did NOT enjoy the experience! I really hope the woman recovers quickly from her experience.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

@DaddyEvil Goodness, that would have been a nasty experience indeed. She was exhausted and had a lot of midgie bites. She also had a slight injury to one foot so she came off quite lightly really.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

It was lucky that they found her. That's a long time to be lost in that type of country.

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@pitstop (15406)

• Australia

13 Jul

I've been seeing so much of this in the news. She was lucky and brave to survive. Not fun, getting lost in those areas. We'd love to drive once through the lonely outback, but I'm not sure if I have the guts to do this.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

You can always go with a group. If you let people know where you're going, take plenty of water and maybe an EPerb thing then you should be okay. For every one that has a problem, hundreds more don't.

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@FourWalls (78474)

• United States

13 Jul

So thankful she was located alive and in relatively good condition!!!

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

I think her parents were planning to fly out. Hopefully they learnt she was okay before leaving - although they might want to come out anyway to support her.

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Anne Marie Guyer

@LeaPea2417 (38361)

• Toccoa, Georgia

13 Jul

I'm glad she was found alive. I just don't understand why some people like to hike in remote places like that.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

She had a decent vehicle but I don't know where she was heading.

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@LadyDuck (482907)

• Italy

13 Jul

It seems that Germans cannot figure out that some places are cold and you must have the right equipment to go there. A German guy was rescued two days ago on the Swiss mountains. It snowed, he climbed up there wearing sneakers!

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@LadyDuck (482907)

• Italy

13 Jul

@JudyEv - Many die in the Swiss lakes, that are not the warm Mediterranean sea, those are Alpine Lakes and could be deep and cold.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

We have a lot of tourists that have no idea of local conditions. Every year, some drown in our oceans through getting caught in rips or whatever.

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@wolfgirl569 (121902)

• Marion, Ohio

13 Jul

Glad they found her

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@wolfgirl569 (121902)

• Marion, Ohio

13 Jul

@JudyEv Especially as you are going into winter. I know you don't get extreme cold but it still starts wearing the body down.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

@wolfgirl569 The nights are cold in that region and just about all the vegetation is quite prickly.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

It was starting to get very worrying after 10 days out there.

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@RasmaSandra (88670)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

13 Jul

Glad she is all right but that was not smart to go backpacking all alone,

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

She had a nice 4WD vehicle but went off the road at some point and got bogged. She has been out here for two years.

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@Deepizzaguy (113739)

• Lake Charles, Louisiana

14 Jul

Thank goodness that Carolina was found safe and sound.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

Everyone was very happy when she was found.

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@Deepizzaguy (113739)

• Lake Charles, Louisiana

14 Jul

@JudyEv That is good to know.

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@Treborika (18069)

• Mombasa, Kenya

13 Jul

Luckily she was really found alive. I am very glad for that

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

Her family were about to come out from Germany. I don't know if they are still going to come out.

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (65904)

• Centralia, Washington

13 Jul

I'm guessing the lady will write a memoir about her time in the outback.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

Quite possibly she will.

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@Shiva49 (27503)

• Singapore

13 Jul

It is safer to go as a group to such places. Happy that she is safe and recovering from her ordeal.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Jul

Yes, it would be best to go with a group.

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@LindaOHio (199862)

• United States

13 Jul

Wow! She is lucky for sure. I wonder where she got water?

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

It's our winter and it seems she drank from puddles mostly.

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@Beestring (15779)

• Hong Kong

13 Jul

I'm glad that she was found and no major injuries.

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@JudyEv (362375)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 Jul

Everyone was half-expecting the worst. It's only a few months ago that something similar happened and a prospector went missing but he hasn't been found.

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